Andy Kaufman’s “Daughter” is Actually Just A New York Actress

The internet did its internet-y hyperventilating Monday night when a woman appeared at the Andy Kaufman Awards claiming to be the late entertainer’s daughter and informed the crowd (as well as Kaufman’s brother, Michael, who hosted the event) that her father was, in fact, still alive (“He just wanted to be a stay-at-home dad . . .”). Michael embraced her (“I’m going to hug you just in case you are my niece”) and said he’d found an essay from Andy in which he had indicated he intended to fake his own death.

Well, it took a few days, but the Smoking Gun has now reported that Kafuman’s “daughter” is actually 24-year-old actress Alexandra Tatarsky (real dad: a Manhattan doctor, who may or may not have let the cat out of the bag by accidentally deleting his daughter’s “hey dad, plz hide the pic of me in my graduation cap and gown from ur office” text before he could read it).

The Smoking Gun says Tatarsky met Kaufman’s brother earlier this year at a Kaufman exhibit held at a gallery where she worked, and the plan, as it were, was evidently hatched then.

Whether this will lead to future gigs for Tatarsky is unclear, though we can only assume she’s already received several calls from whoever casts Catfish.